The increasing number of microbial strains that have acquired resistance to the currently available known antibiotic compounds is recognized as a dangerous threat to public health. As the use of such compounds has proliferated, so too has the need for expanding the options available to treat a wide variety of microbial-based conditions. The need for a larger choice of antimicrobial compounds extends beyond treatment of human infection and to a need to preserve food and other perishable commodities. New antibiotics can also be essential for resistant plants and animals as well as to provide resistance to materials that otherwise are subject to microbially caused corrosion.
Thus, there is a clear need for an expanded armament of compounds which can provide a multifaceted defense against unwanted microbial activity.
WO 98/09978 published Mar. 12, 1998 and incorporated herein by reference discloses modified forms of erythromycin which lack a cladinose residue at the 3-position and which are derivatized in various ways in positions 9-12 of the macrolide ring. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,750,510, issued May 12, 1998 and incorporated herein by reference, discloses modified erythromycin derivatives.
The naturally occurring erythromycins have the structure
ErythromycinR′R″A—OH—CH3B—H—CH3C—OH—HD—H—Hwherein R′ can be H or OH and R″ can be H or CH3.
All of the compounds disclosed in the above-referenced patent documents contain an ethyl group at position 13 of the macrolide ring. The present inventors have found that alterations in the substituent at position 13 results in a large number of compounds with excellent antibacterial activity.